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New for 2009!

Featured as one of the Best New Adventure Trips of 2009 in SmarterTravel.com (12/8/08).

Small in size, but overflowing with riches, Albania is packed with culture, history, and ecology that are nearly unknown to modern travelers. Smaller than the state of Maryland, its treasures are easily explored on foot, and this walking tour samples simply the best—from two UNESCO World Heritage Sites to Roman ruins, Ottoman bridges and forts to fascinating castles and monasteries, plus beautiful countryside filled with rivers and rolling hills. First inhabited more than 100,000 years ago, Albania departed from communist rule in the late 20th century, and today has opened the doors to its rich heritage—and we’re one of the few US tour operators to offer a trip here! On this trip, you’ll visit ruins in Butrint National Park and Gjrokastra, and travel along charming footpaths that connect one cobblestone village to the next. This is a place of unique beauty and thriving ecosystems, where mountains and rivers meet, creating a landscape of cliffs, grottos, caves, gorges, and rolling hillsides with sweeping vistas. With its combination of natural beauty and historical importance, this tour will give you a new perspective on Europe’s landscape, history, and culture—all in the space of one gem-sized country.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

• Walk through beautiful countryside to explore culture, historic, and ecologically important sites in a remote part of Eastern Europe
• See this country’s hidden natural riches where mountains and rivers meet creating dramatic cliffs, grottos, caves, gorges
• Explore some of Eastern Europe’s most culturally significant archeological sites—including Butrint National Park, a World Heritage Site!
• Visit this remote part of Eastern Europe, rich in historic and cultural highlights—Roman ruins, Ottoman bridges, ancient monasteries, and Byzantine churches

"An Albania exploratory? What adventurer could resist that? I grew up in an era when Albania was as mysterious as any country in the world...and now tourism in this remote corner of the Mediterranean is in its infancy. It will inevitably grow and transform this raw gemstone into a finely polished jewel. I want to be there before that happens, to be on the cutting edge of adventure travel with MTS yet again. It is chances like this that keep me excited about travel after all these years."
~ John Yost

This trip has been discontinued. Please call one of MTSobek’s travel experts at 888-831-7526 to learn about similar trips currently offered.

Day 1 - Arrive in Corfu, Greece.

Day 2 - Take a ferry ride to the Albanian village of Saranda, where you can visit a synagogue dating from before the 7th century. Explore Butrint National Park, a World Heritage Site.

Day 3 - Visit new excavations of the Roman Colony of Butrint. Walk to Kalivo Hill, an important site in the Bronze Age, and visit the Roman villa of Diapor, where some believe the philosopher Cicero once stayed.

Day 4 - Visit ancient city of Phoinice, whose theater once held 15,000 to 18,000 people. Travel to the Monastery of Mesopotam, a pagan-temple-turned-Byzantine church that is one of the largest and oldest churches of its era.

Day 5 - Explore Gjirokastra, a World Heritage City with an enormous Ottoman fortress. Also see one of the largest castles in the Balkans, the Arms Museum, the Ethnographic Museum, and the Monastery of Bektashi.

Day 6 - Walk to the Teke (monastery) of Melan, home to Sufi Dervishes, with whom we will visit. En route, follow a footpath used by Lord Byron in 1809 during his visit to the Castle of Ali Pasha of Tepeleni.

Day 7 - Begin walking along the mountain range of Bureto and visit the village of Libohova.

Day 8 - Walk through the spectacular Vjosa Valley, whose highlights include the Kelcyra Gorge and Fausta Antigonese (an ancient Roman battle site). Continue through rolling countryside along the River Vjosa to the Byzantine Church of Kosina.

Day 9 - Explore a famous Byzantine church in the village of Leusa, and then follow a path above the River Vjosa toward the village of Kaluth.

Day 10 - Journey along the River Vjosa to peaceful hot springs in the scenic river village of Benja. Enjoy more beautiful countryside and views of Ottoman bridges and another Byzantine church.

Day 11 - Return to Saranda for lunch. Ferry to Corfu to explore the old city before a farewell dinner.

Day 12 - Depart Corfu.

Photo Credits
Both images: ©MTS Photo File